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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28348704">the name of the king</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/starlightwalking/pseuds/starlightwalking'>starlightwalking</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Ataquenta Silmarillion [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>The Silmarillion and other histories of Middle-Earth - J. R. R. Tolkien</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Bittersweet, Brotherly Angst, Finwe's A+ Parenting, Finwean family drama, Gen, Lord of the Rings Secret Santa 2020, Name Changes, Names, Quenya Names, Sibling Rivalry, Years of the Trees, a bit more bitter than sweet but I tried</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-12-27</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-12-27</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-10 20:36:20</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,916</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28348704</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/starlightwalking/pseuds/starlightwalking</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Finwë bestows his name upon his sons, but tension inevitably rises from such a decision.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Fingolfin | Ñolofinwë &amp; Finwë, Fëanor | Curufinwë &amp; Fingolfin | Ñolofinwë, Fëanor | Curufinwë &amp; Finwë</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Ataquenta Silmarillion [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/2076816</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>15</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>54</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>Lord of the Rings Secret Santa 2020</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>the name of the king</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><ul class="associations">
      <li>For <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/HewerOfCaves/gifts">HewerOfCaves</a>.</li>



        <li>In response to a prompt by
            Anonymous in the <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/collections/LotR_SeSa_2020">LotR_SeSa_2020</a>
          collection.
        </li>
    </ul><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>For Anonymous, who requested "Something from their childhood/adolescence. A little angsty, a little happy. Bittersweet is my favorite kind of flavor. Feanor NOT being too much of a dick." This turned out a little more bitter than it did sweet, but I hope it's something like what you were looking for!<br/>ETA: for HewerOfCaves 💚💚💚</p><p>Everyone is named Finwë in this fic, so I distinguished them with their mother-names and/or after-names for clarity.<br/>The story of Finwë changing giving his sons his own name and then adding prefixes is from the Shibboleth of Fëanor in Peoples of Middle-earth.</p><p>In case you need a guide to who’s who:<br/>Finwë Ñoldóran = Finwë. His second name is an epessë that literally means “King of the Noldor.”<br/>Finwë Fëanáro / Curufinwë Fëanáro = Fëanor.<br/>Finwë Arakáno / Ñolofinwë Arakáno = Fingolfin. He also named his youngest son Arakáno (Argon, who doesn’t appear in the published Silm), much like Fëanor named his favorite son Curufinwë (Curufin).</p><p>“Vanima” (Q. “fair”) is my amilessë for Indis; it’s a literal translation of her epithet “the Fair.”<br/>“Vórimë” (Q. “steadfast/faithful”) is my amilessë for Findis, referring to her choice to stay in Valinor during the Flight of the Noldor, and my headcanons around her faith and spirituality.<br/>My name for the wife of Ingwë is “Antarë” (Q. “high one”). She and Ingwë were not very creative when it came to naming their son, and just gave him their names + “ion” (son).</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Young Finwë Fëanáro glowered at his father. He was proud to share Finwë’s name, to bear the name of the king, but this—this was too much!</p><p>“Say hello to your little brother,” his father cooed.</p><p>“No,” Finwë Fëanáro snapped.</p><p>Finwë Noldóran frowned, pulling the babe close to his chest. “Fëanáro,” he began, “you did not treat Findis this way when she was born.”</p><p>“Findis has her own <em>name</em>,” growled Finwë Fëanáro. “You named this—stupid baby—you gave him <em>my</em> name!”</p><p>Finwë Noldóran sighed. “Finwë Fëanáro,” he said tiredly, “I did not give him your name. I gave him <em>my</em> name, the same as I did with you.”</p><p>Finwë Fëanáro stuck out his chin. Usually he was proud to go by the name Fëanáro, clinging to that last gift from his mother, but today he very much wanted to claim his ataressë. He felt cheated and betrayed that the name Finwë was no longer something he and his father shared, alone.</p><p>This was all the fault of that ugly baby Finwë. Findis was small and annoying, and Finwë Fëanáro didn’t like her much, but she was a <em>girl</em>, and she was <em>blonde</em>, and she had her own <em>name</em>, so he could tolerate her. But this new baby half-brother was a <em>boy</em>, and had <em>dark</em> hair like Fëanáro, and he’d taken Fëanáro’s ataressë too!</p><p>“I don’t want to have the same name as him,” he whined.</p><p>Finwë Noldóran sighed. “I thought you liked sharing my name.”</p><p>“Just with <em>you</em>,” Finwë Fëanáro explained. “Not with—<em>him</em>!” He shuffled his feet, but didn’t turn his glare from his father. “And...maybe—maybe I don’t want the <em>exact</em> same name as you.”</p><p>Finwë Noldóran’s expression grew thoughtful. He balanced the new Finwë, whose face was red as a peach, in a one-armed embrace, and used his free hand to ruffle Finwë Fëanáro’s hair. “Then I will give you a different name.”</p><p>“No!” Finwë Fëanáro yelped, immediately regretting his boldness in speaking out. “Give <em>him</em> a different name, not <em>me</em>! I was here <em>first</em>—”</p><p>“But I want everyone to know how clever my boy is,” Finwë Noldóran said earnestly. “You are skilled beyond measure, dear little Finwë! Only twenty-one and already a master of the Sarati, praised by Rúmil himself, and your forgework surpasses that of your tutors! There is no one in all of Aman as intelligent as you, yonya.”</p><p>With his father’s praise ringing in his ears, Finwë Fëanáro grew less agitated and more pleased. He <em>was</em> very clever, after all. And it wasn’t like the stupid baby Finwë could do all that. Even when he got bigger, he wouldn’t be as smart as Finwë Fëanáro!</p><p>“Now, I want to be clear that you and your brother are not the same simply because you share my name,” Finwë Noldóran said seriously. “You are Finwë Fëanáro, my eldest son, and the only child of Míriel Þerindë.”</p><p>Finwë Fëanáro puffed out his chest. Yes. He was the only son of the <em>real</em> queen, and this half-Vanyarin brat could never take his place.</p><p>“And this little one is Finwë Arakáno,” his father said, affectionately brushing a tuft of black hair out of the child’s face. “The first son of Indis Vanima. You are both very important to me, but...”</p><p>He leaned close and kissed Finwë Fëanáro on the cheek. “Do not tell him this, but you will always be my favorite,” he whispered, a sparkle in his eye.</p><p>Finwë Fëanáro beamed—but slowly, his grin faded. “But...we still have the same name.”</p><p>“No longer,” Finwë Noldóran proclaimed. “For now I rename you Curufinwë, my skilled child, clever and quick and most crafty of all the Noldor!”</p><p><em>Curufinwë</em>. Skilled Finwë, smart Finwë, talented Finwë.</p><p>And the baby was just <em>Finwë</em>. He might bear the name of the king, but he was small and stupid and he could never, ever be as amazing as Curufinwë Fëanáro.</p><p>So Curufinwë, newly named, threw his arms around his father and thanked him, proud beyond measure that he was the most crafty of all the Noldor, for if the king said so, it must be true. And only at twenty-one!</p><p>He even gave Finwë Arakáno a quick kiss on the forehead, just to make his father smile. It wasn’t as if he could ever live up to the excellence of his older half-brother Curufinwë Fëanáro, after all. He could have a little kiss, for pity’s sake.</p>
<hr/><p>Finwë Arakáno was beyond excited to have a new little sibling. He loved Findis and Fëanáro, of course, even if Findis was always in her room reading and Fëanáro sneered every time he came near, but this little baby would love him <em>back</em>. He would make sure of it.</p><p>Her name was Írimë, Finwë Ñoldóran said, “Because she fulfills the desire of my heart, to be a father.”</p><p>Finwë Arakáno nodded seriously at that, for he too wanted children, when he came of age. Having recently celebrated his thirty-seventh begetting day, he wasn’t <em>so </em>far off from that now, at least not from his first coming of age when he would be able to go to the dances and parties Fëanáro was always attending. His second coming of age, when he could begin to build a family like his father’s, was much further away, but he was patient. He could wait.</p><p>His amil named his sister Lalwendë, because she laughed more than she cried. “Vórimë was so fussy,” she said with a tired smile, “and you were too, Arakáno. But this one, she is a dream of happiness.”</p><p>“I’m sorry I was troublesome,” Arakáno said contritely.</p><p>Indis only kissed his forehead, a gesture Finwë Arakáno did not like from anyone, but tolerated from his mother. “Don’t be, my little Káno,” she murmured. “Babies are like that. Lalwendë is the exception, hence her name!” She sighed. “You are too wise for your own good, I fear,” she said softly, her eyes far away, and Arakáno was not certain he was meant to hear that.</p><p>“Atar,” he said to his father one day not long after Írimë Lalwendë was born, “may I ask you a question?”</p><p>Finwë Ñoldóran paused in his scribing. “Of course, Finwë.”</p><p>“<em>You’re</em> Finwë,” he said with a frown. “I don’t... I am honored, of course, to bear your name, but...I know you gave Fëanáro a new name after my birth, so there would not be three Finwës in our house.”</p><p>“He is still Finwë,” Finwë Ñoldóran said mildly.</p><p>“Yes—<em>Curu</em>finwë.” Finwë Arakáno looked at him. “I know I will never match my brother in skill...”</p><p>And here he paused briefly, hoping without much hope for this to be the first time his father dared protest and assure him that he could be as great as Fëanáro somehow, but Finwë only nodded. Well, it <em>was</em> the truth.</p><p>“...but I would like to have my own name, unique to me, like Curufinwë’s is to him.” He took a deep breath. “I know that is a bold request—”</p><p>“It is a wise one,” Finwë Ñoldóran corrected with a fond smile. “You are not the clever young nér that is your brother, yonya, but you are thoughtful and patient in a way that he...is often not.” He lowered his voice conspiratorially. “Do not tell him I said that, of course.”</p><p>Finwë Arakáno was much too old to play that game—he knew where his father’s favor lay—but it stirred his pride nonetheless, and he smiled. “Thank you, Atar.”</p><p>“Of course I will give you a new name, since you asked so well,” Finwë proclaimed. “Hmm...” He looked down to his paper thoughtfully. “How do you feel about Ñolofinwë?”</p><p><em>Ñolofinwë.</em> Wise Finwë. His father thought him wise! Curufinwë was many things, but wise—no one would call him that, unprompted. This was for Arakáno, and Arakáno alone.</p><p>He grinned. “It’s perfect,” he said softly. “Thank you.”</p><p>That day, Ñolofinwë Arakáno held his head high, and when Curufinwë Fëanáro sneered at him and called him “little Finwë,” he at last had a proper response.</p>
<hr/><p>“Did you hear that Atar is planning on naming our new brother ‘Finwë’ when he is born, like he did with us?” Ñolofinwë said, trying his best to find a non-controversial topic of conversation. </p><p>Curufinwë gripped the balcony’s railing, staring out into the city. “I had not.”</p><p>Ñolofinwë repressed a sigh. He should have known that anything to do with family was off limits, including his very existence. “He is truly attached to his own name, it seems.”</p><p>“It would seem.”</p><p>Ñolofinwë <em>did</em> sigh this time. “Perhaps we could convince him to give the child a prefix to his ataressë from birth, instead of waiting until he is bothered by the name as he did with you and I?”</p><p>“Perhaps.”</p><p>“Curufinwë.”</p><p>“That is my name.”</p><p>“Curufinwë, will you look at me?”</p><p>His brother turned his head, eyes narrowed, sparking with suspicion. “What do you want, Nolofinwë?”</p><p>“Family,” he said simply. “Brotherhood.”</p><p>Curufinwë sneered. “You will have that with this new...<em>child</em>.”</p><p>“And you could have that, also,” Ñolofinwë insisted. “Fëanáro, I know you do not hate me entirely!” He grasped for a memory, one of those fleeting moments where he had felt connected to his brother rather than pushed away. “When we were younger, and Ingwion teased me for having the same name as my father, you stood up for me—”</p><p>“I stood up for Finwë Noldóran and his choices in the naming of his children,” Curufinwë Fëanáro corrected, but some of the tension in his shoulders loosened, and he let go of the railing. “And it is not as if anyone named ‘Ingwion Antarion’ has any room to mock <em>us</em>. At least our amilessi are unique, and our ataressi expanded upon—he has only a patronymic and a matronymic, and naught else! <em>His</em> parents are the uncreative ones!”</p><p>“And he ought to know better than to judge Ñoldorin creativity,” Ñolofinwë chuckled, “especially to the face of Curufinwë Fëanáro!”</p><p>At this, Curufinwë actually smiled, a peculiar light in his eye. “Even you could outperform in any craft,” he agreed. He cleared his throat. “I have seen your designs for the new wing of the palace. They are...worthy of a prince of the Noldor.”</p><p>Ñolofinwë was astonished by the sudden wave of emotion that overcame him. He had never before been <em>complimented</em> by his brother!</p><p>“Of course, I have some notes, specifically for the arches,” Curufinwë continued briskly, turning back to gaze out upon the city in the waning light of the Laurelin. “But I anticipate that the changes will be integrated with grace.”</p><p>“I... Thank you,” Ñolofinwë said softly. “I will take your advice into account. It would be unwise to ignore critique from the greatest craftsnér of our people.”</p><p>Fëanáro sniffed. “Don’t attempt to flatter me,” he warned. “I know my worth without your—”</p><p>“It was a compliment,” Ñolofinwë interrupted with no small amount of exasperation. “Not everything I do is political. Can I not wish to speak kindly to my brother?”</p><p>Fëanáro glanced back, eyes narrowed. “I do not trust you, son of Indis.”</p><p>“Well, I trust you, son of Finwë,” Ñolofinwë insisted, and he meant it, for the most part. “And for our new brother’s sake, I hope you will be kinder to him than you have been to me.”</p><p>Fëanáro turned away. “Tell Atar that I agree with your idea about his name,” he said, a little stiffly. “We are, after all, our own néri...and he will be, as well.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>The two coming of age celebrations/ceremonies are my own headcanon; the first takes place at 50, and is when an elf is expected to integrate into larger society, gain a trade or craft if they haven’t already, and begin dating. The second takes place at 100, when the elf is old enough to be considered a Full Adult, get married, and take on additional responsibilities. Once an elf reaches ~150 their age stops mattering almost entirely, especially when it comes to age gaps in relationships.</p><p>I think Finwë does name the child Arafinwë at birth, which explains why his name (“noble Finwë”) is the most basic/least specific of the three brothers, because he gave it before Arafinwë reached a point where his personality became clear.</p><p> </p><p>Thanks for reading, and please comment if you enjoyed!<br/>You can find me on tumblr <a href="https://arofili.tumblr.com/">@arofili</a>.</p></blockquote></div></div>
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